Improper solid waste management has always been a problem time in and time out throughout every community- locally, regionally, and around the globe. According to RA 9003 or the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”, Ecological solid waste management refers to the “systematic administration of activities which provide for segregation at source, segregated transportation, storage, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of solid waste and all other waste management activities which do not harm the environment.”  Our country generates over 40,000 tons of solid waste every day, which necessitates the use of a large number of garbage trucks to collect. Each person in the country generates roughly 0.5 kilogram of waste each day on average. These wastes are collected from households and transferred to our sanitary landfills. However, these landfills are merely required to hold residual waste. Other solid waste must also be diverted, either be reduced, reused, or recycled, according to the law. The main party responsible for effective and efficient solid waste management in the country lies with the local government units (LGUs). Despite the regulations put up, improper solid waste management continues to be a problem in the Philippines, where open and regulated landfills are still being used. This poses a serious threat to the environment and public health in the country. The country's most serious challenge presently is a lack of new landfill sites to accommodate the enormous amount of garbage being generated by the people.

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                     Solid Waste refers to the variety of material coming from animal and human activities that are unwanted and disposed due to it being useless or of minimum importance. They are non-liquid, non-soluble materials ranging from municipal garbage to industrial wastes that may contain complex and hazardous substances. They may be categorized based on materials such as organic waste, paper, plastic, glass, and metal. However, they are more known to be categorized based on their disposal: biodegradable waste, residual waste, recyclable waste, and special or hazardous waste. Waste that decomposes naturally is referred to as biodegradable waste. Recyclable wastes are wastes that have been recovered from the waste stream, are free of pollution, and can still be turned into useful products or used for other purposes. Residual wastes are those wastes which cannot be used for other purposes, hence, for transport to the landfill, while Special Wastes are hazardous waste like household cleaners and chemicals, hospital waste, used oil, paints and thinners, or old broken fluorescent bulbs.

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            Through the conduction of community health diagnosis survey on Solid Waste Management (SWM) practices in the barangay, it showed that majority of the population, though knowledgeable of the segregation process being practiced in their barangay, still hesitates to follow it due to the growing garbage in the Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) that are not collected. Hence, the residents would rather keep their garbage at home or elsewhere, through either burying them or burning them, which leads to improper waste disposal.

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                    It is known how improper management of solid waste can indirectly affect health. Non-biodegradable wastes that are burned emit harmful chemicals, which are then released to the atmosphere to be inhaled by the residents, causing various respiratory illnesses. Open dumping, another method used for waste disposal, causes a different problem on its own like vector–borne diseases. Recently, on July 2019, a dengue outbreak was declared in the region. Considering that the top morbidity includes influenza, cough, and LBM, the indirect effects of improper disposal are now at play.

                The key to proper management of disposal of any type of waste starts within the households, among the people. To ensure effectivity of the process, the residents themselves should be willing to change their habit along with proper knowledge on what has to be and not be done to guarantee the success in solving the problem. 

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                  During the conduction of the initial survey last June 2019, it was found out that majority of the residents were practicing waste segregation of waste materials. However, there was still a problem as to the disposing manner of the segregated waste. For example, plastics are separated from organic materials but the method of disposing it is still through burying.

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             Another way to solve this was through conversing with the people/organization responsible for solid waste collection in Sindangan. The researchers found out that the reason the General Services Office (GSO) no longer collects segregated waste from Barangay Maras is that, not everyone was practicing proper solid waste segregation, consistent with our survey data. Because of that, the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where the segregated waste is supposed to be collected, emits a foul odour which implies a non-segregated waste, and in turn, the GSO personnel refuses to retrieve. This causes the pileup of waste in the MRF, leading up to the improper disposal of their waste through either burying or burning. Through talking to both sides, those responsible for collecting the segregated waste and the people benefiting from the MRF, different projects and activities were formulated in aiding the concurrent problems that haunt the barangay.

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              The proposed solutions for this issue are heavily focused on improper solid waste management awareness, promotion of various activities to combat it, stressing the importance of community involvement, engagement and support, creation of policies, and formation of partnerships and inter-sectoral linkages. We have devised a four-year plan to resolve the above issues in collaboration with the Barangay council and the community residents. Enough knowledge is crucial for it to work; therefore, proposed activities are geared toward enhancing proper solid waste practices. Different activities are prepared on basis of the following: assessing residents’ baseline knowledge on solid waste management practices; increasing their awareness and knowledge as well as strengthening those practices through a series of lectures involving the causes and effect of improper solid waste management, proper waste segregation, and repurposing them; facilitating and conceptualization of new projects and proposals; provision of training programs for enhancement of skills and knowledge on solid waste, and ensuring sustainability of the projects through evaluation and monitoring tools. Along with the implementation of the different proposed plans, responsible point persons are key for the monitoring and sustainability of the projects, hence the establishment of a core group on sanitation, prioritizing solid waste management and water potability, will be formed. Development of new policies and adoption of on-going policies will also be done. Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) shall form the foundation of activities, from which this will become basis on how solid waste practices shall be implemented.

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                  By re-informing the residents, with help of the GSO staffs and with continuous reminder by the barangay officials, the researchers would successfully engrave the knowledge of proper solid waste management and its effect into the people. Furthermore, the Core Group shall hold the command responsibility to implement programs in relation to the project. They shall provide self- sustaining activities and initiatives to maintain and sustain the project head started by the researchers, such that, a self-reliant community is the long-term goal for that matter. Solid waste management shall be incorporated in the day-by-day activities of the community. However, much has to be done in order for this activity to provide a positive impact attaining the objective set forth. To achieve the sustainability goals of SWM planning, a long-term IEC effort is required. The campaign elements can cover the complete waste management life cycle, although they are typically focused on waste minimization and recycling. It may also address waste segregation and trash, if necessary. Several IEC efforts have failed due to the short duration of the intervention. To guarantee sustainable uptake by the community and stakeholders, as well as improved SWM outcomes, the campaign must be a long-term, almost generational approach. (Integrated Solid Waste Management for Local Governments, a Practical Guide, 2017)

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                 As the community has been seen leaning towards a self- reliant community there will be a sustained implementation of the programs even in the heights of COVID 19 pandemic. All gatherings and assembly shall be done following the existing local and national guidelines and policy in prevention and control of COVID 19. The researchers for that matter, affirms a positive outlook towards a sustained implementation of the program, its activities and strategies and augmented ideas to be implemented, until such time, people faithfully practice proper disposal of solid wastes.